The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Denver Nuggets, as they entered the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets, being the top team in the West hosted the Lakers, taking a 1-0 lead after a defining win. Led by Jokic and Murray, the team had great control over the Lakers. On the other hand, LeBron James and company did all they could, though fell short against the Joker. The Laker team is also facing its former teammate in this series.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, former Laker had a great performance, highly contributing to the offensive end. The 30-year-old had 21 points and 3 assists while shooting around 53% from the field. While he did win over his former team, earlier in the regular season, Pope had some serious words for LeBron James and the Lakers’ offense. Playing against the all-time leading scorer, Pope regretted his words later on.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope retracts his comments about LeBron James and the Lakers after the trade deadline
Early on in the season, Caldwell-Pope felt that the Lakers weren’t playing at their best. After a 2-10 start to the regular season, the team seemed to have forgotten organized basketball. The former Laker player was quick to notice the poor performance.
“Just watching the games, it just looks like there’s no basketball over there. It’s just playing pickup. It’s hard to watch sometimes. So from me to him, just get the team together, and I just want to see that spark in him again. I don’t think I see that spark in Bron. So, hopefully, he can get it back,” said Caldwell Pope after the Lakers’ stumbling start to the season.
The Lakers had a tough time indeed, not only during the start of the season but throughout. After clutching up the last few wins, the team managed to participate in the Play-In tournament. Climbing up from the very bottom, LeBron and the Lakers are now at the final stage to win the West. Looking at the teams’ hustle, Caldwell-Pope seemed pretty impressed having nothing but praise for James. “He’s gotten it back, I feel like it happened after the trade deadline. Just seeing them guys play, I watched pretty much every game. He’s just relentless,” Pope told FOX Sports.
The Lakers were seemingly active during the trade deadline, making crucial adjustments to the roster, that has now got them to the big stage. James on the other hand is still going tough in year 20, as the 38-year-old doesn’t plan to stop till he gets his fifth ring.
